Fighting continued between rebels and Mali’s military junta on Sunday, with UN Secretary‑General António Guterres calling for stronger security coordination across the Sahel.
The violence began on Saturday when Tuareg separatists allied with al‑Qaida‑linked jihadis launched attacks against the ruling junta, which is supported by Russian mercenaries. The Azawad Liberation Front said on social media that fighting had resumed in Kidal and that its fighters intended to “drive out the last Russian fighters who have taken refuge in a camp.” Footage shared by the group showed fighters on Kidal’s streets. The claim that Kidal was captured on Saturday could not be independently verified.
The weekend attacks were coordinated with the jihadi group JNIM, which claimed responsibility for explosions at Mali’s main airport in Bamako. Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, described the incidents as “the biggest coordinated attack for years” and warned it was particularly alarming that JNIM appeared to be coordinating with Tuareg rebels — an alliance that also emerged in 2012 and helped spark the region’s long security crisis.
Malian authorities have struggled to contain the threat across the Sahel since then. In 2020, General Assimi Goïta seized power in a coup, severed ties with former colonial power France and replaced French forces in the north with Russian troops and mercenaries.
Mali’s defence minister, General Sadio Camara, was killed by a car bomb left outside his residence on Saturday, his family said on Sunday. Camara was a senior figure in the ruling junta and seen by some as a potential future leader. An AFP source speaking on condition of anonymity said at least three other family members died in the explosion. The bomb is believed to have been planted by JNIM.
Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” by reports of attacks across Mali, condemned the violence, expressed solidarity with the Malian people and stressed the need to protect civilians and infrastructure. He called for coordinated international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and to meet urgent humanitarian needs in the Sahel.
Regional bloc ECOWAS — which Mali formally withdrew from in 2025 — also condemned the attacks and urged all West African states, security forces and regional mechanisms to unite and mobilise in a coordinated effort to combat the threat. Edited by: Sean Sinico